


Wallace

by ashyfox



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Crying, Egobang - Freeform, Fluff, Gardens & Gardening, Happy Ending, M/M, Plants, cactus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 13:05:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6705544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashyfox/pseuds/ashyfox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When his cactus wilts, Dan takes it deeper than he thought he would.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wallace

**Author's Note:**

> hey, this is my first egobang work, i hope you enjoy it ^-^

The evening brought a satisfying chill after the afternoon sun’s bittersweet yet unforgivable touch. The sky was painted in an ombre of soft pinks and lethargic purples as dusk cascaded most of the suburban house in a nightly hue, except for the vanilla scented candles that were placed in various positions amongst the first floor, flooding the home in a comforting ambience that accentuated the start of the summer night. The house was quiet, too quite, in fact, as around this time, 90’s grunge music would usually be echoing throughout the household from the kitchen as dinner was being prepared.

Arin found it odd to come home from running errands to silence, all the lights off. At first he thought that Dan wasn’t home, but he knew that he would never forget to blow out the candles before leaving the room. He tossed his keys onto the coffee table and took off his shoes, glancing around the threshold that connected the foyer and the living room worriedly.

In the silence of the otherwise barren home, he heard a soft cry emit from the farthest reaches of the kitchen, by the large glass sliding doors that led outside to the deck.

“Dan?” Arin called, quickly, but reluctantly padding towards the kitchen on his bare feet. When he flipped the switch as he entered the room, he was met by the sight of his boyfriend sitting against the glass pane, his unruly hair hanging lazily as a mask before his face, his trembling hands wrapped around the large flowering pot sitting in his lap. His small frame was shaking in an earthquake of sobs. Arin made his way over to him, afraid that Dan hurt himself, lowering to his knees and placing a large comforting hand on Dan’s knee to calm his tremors.

“Dan, what’s wrong?” he reached forward, gently situating his other hand on Dan’s cheek, brushing the stray tears away with the pad of his thumb. Dan leaned into his touch, bringing his own shaking hand up to Arin’s.

There was a moment of silence as Arin waited for the man to speak. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his forehead; he knew how much Dan loved forehead kisses, since they made him feel smaller and protected in an armor of affection, and Arin fell into the rhythm of kissing him there whenever he got the chance. Each time, compassion surged through Dan with a star’s warmth that vaporized any cold feeling in his chest, and he would feel instantly better.

He sniffled, taking his time before he composed himself enough to explain his emotional turmoil on such an innocent summer evening; he knew that no matter how long it took him to talk, Arin was still listening. He always listened.

“H-he died,” Dan stuttered.

Arin felt his heart rush as he began to wonder who in the world Dan could be talking about, suddenly anxious that someone he knew lost their life. “Who?” Arin asked, then he followed Dan’s gaze to the flower pot and he understood.

“Wallace,” Dan replied, his tears dampening the dry soil beneath his chin. “My cactus.” He felt slightly embarrassed, letting his sadness soak into the dead soil, and he suddenly felt that he was maybe overreacting to his hour of misfortune. He hated that he took this so hard and began to blush furiously at how he was acting. 

“He’s been growing for nineteen years now. Dad gave him to me before I left for college, and let me take him with me to California, kind of like a link to home, you know?” Arin nodded. “The other day, I put Wallace in a bigger pot that I found in the garage, since his original pot was looking kind of small and apparently it’s a big no no? All the extra water in the soil rots the roots or some shit like that…”

He stopped talking, feeling his body tense as another sob began to manifest in his throat. He tried to hold his tears back and it burned. He didn’t like that every time he cried about one thing, he ended up crying about everything that seemed to go wrong, and it made him feel less strong than he likes to think he is. He always felt that crying was a private matter, for him at least, and he’d feel a sort of shame whenever he had too strong of an emotional response in front of any of his close friends, especially over something as small as this cactus.

“Sorry I’m crying so much,” Dan mumbled. “It’s just… I – fuck, I can’t do anything right.”

“No,” Arin gently took the flower pot and placed it on the ground beside him. He took Dan’s hands and stood, slowly leading Dan to his feet, then letting go and wrapping his large arms over his shoulders, pulling him into a warm embrace that was much better than the chill of the glass windowpane, and the cool kitchen tile. Dan immediately melted into the familiar touch as he snaked his own arms around Arin’s waist, burying his tear soaked face in the fabric of his boyfriend’s t-shirt.

“No,” Arin repeated. “No, never say sorry for crying, dude, okay? Your feelings are valid.” He tangled his fingers in the depth of Dan’s hair.

Dan’s eyes fell shut as he shivered, not from his previous episode, but from the feeling of Arin’s breath curling around his ear and neck as he spoke. He was slowly feeling better again, though his sadness wasn’t one hundred percent gone, still lingering in the back of his throat and underneath his fingernails, but his eyes began to brighten again, like the sun after an abundance of thunderstorms.

“And I’ll plant a fucking garden for you,” Arin went on, starting to place kisses along Dan’s neck. “I can get you all the cactuses and name them whatever you want. We can watch them grow together, well, I mean, they take like fifteen years to grow like one inch, but-"

A giggle emitted from Dan and he leaned his forehead against Arin’s, his eyes still shut.

“Hey,” Arin spoke softly. Dan’s eyes fluttered open, meeting Arin’s gaze. “You okay?”

“I’ll be alright,” Dan whispered. “Sometimes I hang onto things too long… I guess I’m going to have to learn to let go. I really like the idea of starting a garden with you.”

“Really?” Arin beamed.

Dan nodded, bumping his nose softly against Arin’s. “We can name our next cactus Wallace Jr.?”

“I like that.”


End file.
